The Year They Burned the Books

BibliographyGarden, Nancy. (1999). The Year They Burned the Books. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0374386676. 256p.

Plot SummaryJamie Crawford is the editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, and she adamantly believes that one of the school's most important responsibilities is to educate students about all aspects of the world they're about to face. When she decides to publish an editorial concerning the school's choice to make condoms available in the nurse's office, Jamie quickly comes under fire when a concerned parent running for a place on the school board voices her desire to alter the school's health curriculum so that any mention of sex outside marriage and homosexuality is removed. Things become even more complicated when Jamie finds herself coming to terms with homosexual feelings she has never acknowledged before. The Year They Burned the Books gives readers of all ages a glimpse into the realities of censorship, along with multiple perspectives on sex education and homosexuality.

Review Excerpts"High school senior Jamie Crawford has attained her dream of being editor-in-chief of her school newspaper, but when she writes an editorial in favor of a new health curriculum that includes the distribution of condoms and frank discussion of homosexuality, she finds herself embroiled in a controversy that is polarizing her small New England community . . . An important book that deserves a wide readership." — Booklist